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The You Docs: Hawthorn helps hearts

Hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha), a flowering shrub, has been used to help heart problems since the first century. And guess what? It works. While the ancient remedy isn't a slam-dunk for congestive heart failure and high blood pressure, there's evidence that it helps.

In lab research, using hawthorn extract after a heart attack helps prevent the kind of damage that leads to congestive heart failure.

After many small human studies suggested that hawthorn lowers high blood pressure, a double-blind trial in 2006, found that when diabetics taking prescription meds for high blood pressure also took hawthorn extract daily, their pressure was even lower.

Hawthorn's lovely pink and white flowers, leaves and berries all contain a host of plant nutrients called flavonoids. These substances increase blood flow, protect blood vessels and, in animal studies, make bad blood fats skedaddle like bad guys in a Western when the new sheriff hits town.

Despite all of this encouraging info, talk to your doc before taking it. Even though hawthorn extract is widely available without a prescription, it interacts with some prescription drugs, making them dangerously potent.

Last summer, for the first time ever, I had to buy a one-piece bathing suit because my belly has gotten so fat. Is it age? I'll turn 62 this summer. I've never gone to a gym and always managed to stay slim. How do I get rid of this pooch?

- Geira, Amityville, N.Y.

This may be the question we're asked most often. For most women this is a consequence of pregnancy and diastasis rectii (see "YOU: Having a Baby" on how to prevent), but since your pooch is new for you at age 60, being pregnant is an unlikely cause. Fortunately, we've got this jelly-belly thing down to a science. Here's how to swap it for some lean muscle:

► Buy a pedometer. Getting off the couch and walking is one of the easiest ways to burn calories and shed the dangerous fat bulging over your bikini bottom. This little gadget measures how many steps you take and will help you reach your eventual goal - at least 10,000 steps a day - that qualifies you as an "active" person.

► Stick to good carbs. Meaning the complex carbohydrates in fruits, veggies and 100 percent whole grains, which fill you up on surprisingly few calories. Whole-grain lovers have smaller waistlines than people who eat highly processed foods, which often are made from white flour (think pasta, white bread, white rice).

► Lift your own weight. Push-ups, crunches and taking the stairs instead of the elevator use your body weight (it's kind of a built-in dumbbell) to build more calorie-burning muscle. Leg lifts are especially good for tightening your transverse abdominal muscles, those muscles keep the pooch contained (see "Reverse Crunches" at realage.com).

Got a date with a surgeon? Anesthesiologists once reported that they thought pre-op sex and wine were great for relaxing - not for them, for you. We YOU Docs have another option that could have even wider, and definitely healthier, appeal: No matter what kind of surgery you're facing, learning simple everyday relaxation techniques can boost your body's immune response and help you heal faster.

When men scheduled for angst-inducing prostate cancer surgery used deep breathing and guided imagery, they got big benefits. Their immune-system warriors were more active than those in guys who didn't learn the art of ahhh. And yes, their spirits were brighter, too.

Surgery is stressful for the mind and body. Worry and anxiety can slow your immune system's efforts to mend incisions.

And the physical impact of surgery can boost inflammation, which inhibits healing. That's where relaxation comes in. Calming down your system reduces these counterproductive side effects.

There's nothing hard about the two techniques the men used. Practice them for a week or two before an operation, even if you're facing nothing trickier than a root canal: